Moving to Houston 2010 (Columbus, Howe, Lott: apartments, house, employment)

[nahin247]

My husband is an international Tax Manager and I’m an HR professional I also have TESOL qualifications with 3 years teaching experience. What are the realistic chances of us being able to find employment and live reasonably well in Houston? We’re thinking of starting a family next year and want to know about any good British curriculum schools in Houston and expenses thereto? The hot weather doesn’t bother us because we’ve lived and worked in Dubai or two years and my husband lived in Houston for 2 years almost 5 years ago. He wants to move back there permanently; has much changed in the last six years or so?
Thanks in advance for your responses.

[xsyrax]

hello, my husband and I are also thinking about moving to Houston. I also have a degree in HR and we lived in Dubai for two years as well, my husband was there for much longer before me, but after marriage we spent 2 yrs there together and then moved to states. We have family in Columbus, Oh and therefore came to this state first, but are thinking about moving in a year. I've done a lot of research on Houston through the internet, what I really want to know is if the heat is not too bad there. I mean Dubai had a sort of dry heat, and I've heard Houston is very humid which scares me because it feels hotter that way. I just don't want to sacrifice outdoor activities, bbqs, etc...
I'm certain that sugar land area has about a 6.4% unemployment rate which is just about half of the rest of the US right now, economy is really good in HOuston as well as cost of living. But the weather and the insect problem sort of scares me! btw what is your nationality?

[nahin247]

Hi, we're British. My husband often says if we can cope with the heat in Dubai Houston will not feel as bad- so on this basis I'm willing to consider relocation apart from other factors like cost of living etc. Are the insects that bad? I hate any form of insects- I don't see as many in the apartments in Dubai, although I've heard of scorpians and snakes in the villas out here. In the UK we often have house spiders and they freaked me out so I'm getting a bit worried now! :O(

[xsyrax]

Well I haven't been to Houston, but I've read some forums that mention lizards, spiders, and geckos. I'm sure though that there can be proper pest control to take care of that problem. And I guess Houston may not be that prone to insects and snakes as the other parts of Texas would. I know Dubai was pretty hot, but I feel that it wasn't humid heat. In humid heat such as Houston has, it feels hotter than it is and it is also sticky. Plus in Houston you would probably own a house with large backyard and all, and it would be nice to be able to utilize it. I know that I would really like my son to grow up playing outdoors and having a lot of outdoor activities instead of just playing on a gameboy in the AC all day. Perhaps I will have to visit there for a week to see how hot it really is.

[nahin247]

Probably a good idea! We've just booked our holiday to Houston this evening. We'll be there for 3 weeks in April. It'll be a good chance to explore the area. Anyone have any good tourist activity ideas?

[bluelion_ms3]

the insects aren't that bad....the only insect i would say is bad here would be mosquitos in the summer time and that's really just at night. you'll get used to the heat and realize the hotter part of the days you'd wanna stay inside. a lot of people do their outdoor activities early morning - early afternoon because the hottest time of the day is around 3-4pm. but if you MUST do outdoor activities around that time, be prepared to take a shower when you get home cause your shirts WILL BE sweaty. hehehe

[Canada2Texas]

I visit Houston and have been considering moving there for a while now. The heat in the summer is quite hot and humid, so that limits a lot of outdoor activity (at least in the peak heat hours). Just remember that the peak heat isn't a year-round phenomenon that traps you inside. I dont consider the hot summer to be that much of an issue as there are probably 8-9 months a year (fall, winter and spring) that are absolutely great temperatures. Where I live in Canada, we have nice summers, moderate spring/fall, but the winters can be pretty harsh on the cold side of things - essentially what I would be trading is a bitter cold winter for a hot summer. No matter where one lives, there will typically be a portion of the year that is undesirable. Unless you can live in Hawaii or something like that.

[amyalta]

Originally Posted by nahin247

Hi, we're British. My husband often says if we can cope with the heat in Dubai Houston will not feel as bad- so on this basis I'm willing to consider relocation apart from other factors like cost of living etc. Are the insects that bad? I hate any form of insects- I don't see as many in the apartments in Dubai, although I've heard of scorpians and snakes in the villas out here. In the UK we often have house spiders and they freaked me out so I'm getting a bit worried now! :O(

If you are both British, how will you move to Houston unless you already have sponsorship from your job/s? You will need visas as Brits, and these are not easy to obtain unless through work or spouse being US citizen.

[nahin247]

yeup we know about the US visa issues and are working on it at the moment- my husband is in the oil and gas industry. We are considering the annual US Green Card Lottery. Also we're looking at investing in a business possibly a nursery school or a sector of the education market- At the moment it seems the demand exceeds the supply so we are researching this. I also have a TOEFL Diploma permtting me to open a college to train teachers so this is another option we're considering. However, nothing is set in stone these are just some preliminary thoughts. Any further ideas or guidance will be great.

[vertigo5110]

Originally Posted by nahin247

Probably a good idea! We've just booked our holiday to Houston this evening. We'll be there for 3 weeks in April. It'll be a good chance to explore the area. Anyone have any good tourist activity ideas?

The International Festival (ifest.org) will be taking place in April on the weekends of the the 17th and the 24th. That's all I really know about though. Once you get into town, I'd suggest picking up a copy of the Houston Chronicle (our local newspaper) and looking through it to see what else is going on.

As a previous poster said, the heat isn't something that'll trap you indoors for a majority of the year, really just two or three months. Even during those months, it's only for certain hours of the day (usually from like 11 am to 3 pm) so late afternoon/early evening bbqs are still an option. The bugs can be bad but it's nothing some bug spray wouldn't solve. Some folks who are serious about pest control install mosquito control systems in their back yards. I don't know about the cost/maintenance of these but it's definitely an option. My sister and her husband recently bought one and it works pretty well.

Houston's economy (and that of Texas) has been spared the worst of the recession brunt. Finding work shouldn't be too difficult for you. I don't know if there are any British curriculum schools in Houston. I do know that Awty International is an excellent option for international families (many children graduate speaking at least three languages). The Kinkaid School is another excellent, secular private school option. Houston also has a multitude of religious private schools to choose from.

Good luck with the move!!